Burial casket



(N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. COOPER.

BURIAL GASKET, VAULT. am. No. 328,291. Patentedct. 13, 1885.

' (No Model.) z'sneets-sneet 2.

J. COOPER.

. BURIAL GASKET, VAULT. sm.. .Y No 328,291. Patented Oct. 13, 1885.

WITNESSES .dttomey VNITEJDV STATES PATENT OrrrcE.

JOHN COOPER, OF'MOUNTKVEBN OHIO.

BURIAL"cA'sKE'l-fvAuLr, ego.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 328,291, dated October 13, 1885.

Applicntionfiled June 27, 1885. Serial No. 169,975. (No model.) y

To all whom it may vcon/cern,.-

, Be it known that I, JOHN COOPER, of Mount Vernon, .in the county of Knox and State of Ohio, have invented certain Improvements in in Burial Gaskets and'Vaults; and. I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making part of this specication, in which- Figure lis a vertical cross-sectional view` illustrating a casket made'aiter my invention.

Fig.2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the joint of the sections.; Fig. 3 is an elevation'of my improved interior automatic look.` Figs. 4, 5, and 6 illustrate modifications of the locking device.

The object of myfinvention is to produce a sectional water and air tight burial casket or.

vault which shall be proof against the attacks of resurrectionists or robbers; and to this end my invention consists in a sectional struck or' stamped metal casket, vault, or similar device having the edges of the sections joined by a novel interlocking joint, whereby thel recep-` tacle for the corpse may bemade air and water tight. n

My invention further consists ina new and improved locking device, whereby the sections are secured together at the maximum pressure with which they are brought in contact.

My invention also consists in providing one section with a permanently-attached gasket to rest within the j oint,and having an'interiorlyprojecting edge, to which is securedthe trimmings of the casket or vault.

In order that those skilled in the art may make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A B are two sections forming aburial-receptacle, and are constructed by die-presses or other convenient-means for stamping or pressing each of themfrom a single piece of metal, so that the only seam in the structure will be where the sections join.

In making burial-caskets I should prefer to 4 The sections A and B are in the press given is bent flange b on section B, so that the faces of the ianges will come truly and snugly togethen return-bend, d, then projects intothe flat. or

The edge of section B is given a short horizontal ange 19 and the extreme outer edge Ibeing turned up intoa vertical flange, e,which :has an alternative use, as will be hereinafter fully described. The short return-bend given -the metal at d makes aslight projection above the plane of iange b, and serves to lock-bel-hind the inner edgeof iiange a, the outer end Y of which rests against the inner side of the` vertical flange e, so as to prevent any tendency of flanged to move off of flange b. `The return-bend d and the heel f of the dange of secvltion A also form a curved or biting bearing fon the gasket or packing inserted between the .flanges andinsuring an air-tight joint.

flhe upwardly-turned iiange e may be made to perform a dual office in using my invention. vrIf the structure be a casket,.or made of thin. metal, the flange ey may beallowed to remain `in avertical position, as seen on the right side ,of Fig..1, and form a trough for cement or Waxto seal the joint with; or the flange e may -be turned down over the edge of flange a and directly or indirectly, of securing the trimmings to the interior of the casket or vault by sewing, backing, or any convenient meth- 1 od. A wooden strip may be first. secured to the inwardly-projecting edge of the gasket,

and to this strip the trimmings may be secured.

The interior automatic-locking device is constructed as follows: At intervals around one section, A, adjacent to the edge, are secured a series of pairs of sockets, t', into which lit short bars t. bars t t" are pairs of spring holders or legs h h, provided on their inner sides with a series Depending from said IOO of teeth or projections, h h, raking upward. The distance between the outside surface of one of the legs 7L and the end of bar t" is greater than the distance between the outer surface of the other leg and the other end of said bar i. By this construction I am enabled to place the bars z" in the sockets i by an endwise movement, the longer end, Z, of the bar being passed first into its socket,and then reversing the movement so as to thrust the shorter end, Z', into its socket until the leg i adjacent to the shorter end,l,brings up against the socket, in which position the legs are in position for locking.

At intervals around the interior of section B corresponding in position and number to bars t', and adjacent to the edge, are riveted or otherwise secured a series of studs or projections, D, which may be of any desired form and provided with downwardly-raking teeth m m, to engage with the teeth h It' on the legs l1. h. The sides n n of the projection D are diagonal, so that the descending legs h h will with certainty properly straddle the stud or projection D, and to further insure this'operation the lower ends of the legs are made liaring, as seen at o o. The extreme upper end, p, of projection D passes slightly above the edge of section B, and is curved inwardly, as seen at p', Fig. 2, to serve as a guide to bring the edges and flanges of the sections to place at the various points of attachment.

In interior automatic coiiln-fasteningsheretofore made the catches or locking devices have been only provided with some one predetermined fastening-point,which may fail to secure the edges of the sections hermetically, because of the distortion of the sections from cooling or handling, leaving one catchingpoint too loose and another too tight. In such cases, to avoid the difficulty named, special fitting of each locking device would be required. In my invention, it will be observed, no such difficulty will arise, for the reason that the series of progressive locking points hold the sections together at the maximum point of compression at each lock,so that the flanges can be forced together throughout their extent and be so held, and no rebound can take place.

In the modication of the locking device shown in Fig. 4 the spring serrated fasteninglegs spring over a cylindrical stud, E, having serrations cut in its face on opposite sides of a vertical line.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5 the locking device is divided, as it were, into two parts. A single leg, q, is fastened to bar z, and the stud has a single-serrated face. These fastenings, as an entirety7 are arranged in pairs, as shown, the spring on eachleg holding bars t" steadily in place.

In the modifications of my improved locking device shown in Fig. 6 the spring is transferred from the depending legs to the projection or lug. This is done by making the legs rigid and serrated, and dividing the projection or stud vertically, leaving two swinging hinged portions, having an interposed spring, t, whereby the two swinging sections act as pawls having teeth, which engage with each of the rigid legs.

The manner of connecting the locking-legs h h and bars t" to the section through the medium' of the socketsz' t' enables me to keep said bars and legs separate from the coffinsection during handling and transportation, and readily apply them when the sections are about to be locked together, thus avoiding any accidental locking.

Having thus described my invention,whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, visl. In an interior-locking casket or similar structure,the bifurcated spring-holding device lz h, provided with teeth or serrations and secured to one of the casket-sections, in combination with a stud or projection provided with serrated faces and secured to the other casket-section, substantially as described.

2. In an interior automatic fastening for caskets and similar devices, the combination of the sockets t' i, bar i', projecting legs h h, provided with teeth It h', and stud D, having diagonal faces n a, and provided with teeth m m to interlock with the teeth on the legs 7L, all constructed, arranged, and operated substantially as set forth.

3. In an automatic-locking casket, the lockingstud D, provided with the curved eXtensionpiece p to guide the edges of the sections to place, substantially as described.

4. In a sectional metallic casket, the edge of one section provided with the iiange a, in combination with the edge of the other section, having a return-bend, d, plane flange b, and

upwardly-turned supplemental flange e, all constructed, arranged, and operated as set forth.

5. A sectional metallic casket or similar structure, in combination with a gasket interposed between the sections, permanently secured to one and projecting inward to provide means for securing the trimmings to the interior, substantially as described.

JOHN COOPER.

Witnesses:

W. E. RoBERrs, A. B. MOORE.

IIO 

